By Katherine Hobson

“We can no longer differentiate between diseases of the poor and the rich.”

That’s the conclusion of a newly published health policy paper whose authors include Sanjay Gupta, Lance Armstrong, economist Jeffrey Sachs and global-health pioneer Paul Farmer as well as the head of the American Cancer Society and other public-health biggies. All are members of the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries.

The paper, published online today in the Lancet, calls for the expansion of cancer care and control in low- and middle income nations — including new health infrastructure and access to cheaper drugs — and disputes the perception that cancer is largely a problem of wealthier countries. (The UN, too, recently called for increased focus on the problem of chronic disease in developing countries.) As this paper says, “low-income and middle-income countries now bear a majority share of the burden of cancer, but their health systems are particularly ill prepared to meet this challenge.”

Among the authors’ suggestions:

Focus on prevention, since many cancers can be prevented entirely by avoiding tobacco and vaccinating against HPV and hepatitis.

Also focus on cancers that are potentially curable, including cervical, breast, colorectal and testicular cancer, as well as some forms of leukemia, lymphoma and sarcoma. Other diseases can be palliated, if not cured, with treatment.

While surgical treatments and on-patent drugs are a challenge to use widely in poorer countries, the use of off-patent drugs offers the biggest potential impact in terms of treatment.

High-quality care can be provided by nurses, primary-care docs and other non-specialists.

Care-delivery strategies used against HIV and TB can be deployed against cancer, too.

Cancer care can be incorporated into health-insurance programs targeting the poor, as it is in Mexico and Colombia.

Comments (1 of 1)

This is a very admirable call for action, but this country cannot afford this very well at this time. Since America has oncological expertise, and it should respond by offering to help by providing expertise and personnel, but other countries, not presently stressed by their economies, should support this fully financially. When we get our act together, we can be more helpful financially. At present, we are fighting two wars, wars much less supported by European counties, and our ability to do it all, including this effort to fight cancer, is becoming more limited. Armstrong and Gupta can make these appeals, but they have to fully consider all the implications of such a demand. We provide approximately 25 % of UN aid, and it is time for others to step forward.